The 2022 Leafly Jobs Report found 428,059 full-time equivalent jobs supported by legal cannabis as of January 2022. Last year, the cannabis industry created an average of 280 new jobs per day.
That’s a 33% increase in jobs in a single year! And it marks the fifth year in a row of annual jobs growth greater than 27%. Researchers further found that adult-use and medical state markets saw about $25 billion worth of cannabis products sold last year, exceeding 2020’s totals by nearly $6 billion.
The report emphasizes that marijuana industry growth is far outpacing those of other traditional markets. Last year marked the fifth consecutive year that job growth exceeded 27 percent. By contrast, general business and financial occupations are only expected to grow by about 8% this decade ending 2030.
Those 428,059 jobs include direct cannabis jobs like cultivation and retail sales—what are often called “plant-touching jobs”—as well as indirect ancillary jobs that serve licensed companies or depend on legal cannabis sales. Ancillary jobs include work in accounting, human resources, legal affairs, regulatory compliance, security, maintenance, and construction. Also included are indirect jobs in cannabis media, technology platforms, public relations, lobbying, non-cannabis product suppliers, and industry associations.
According to Leafly Editor-in-Chief Bruce Barcott, ” Cannabis has essentially doubled its job count between January of 2017 and January of 2020. There is no other industry that comes close.” Cannabis is the fastest-growing American industry, surpassing 428,000 jobs.
Sources:
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/cannabis-jobs-report